Tuberoller
Divorced an Orpheus to keep his wife.
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2001
- Posts
- 4,941
- Likes
- 15
For some odd reason people seem to trust me to drive their cars around and allow me to freely abuse them
. Sometimes I don't even have to ask,they give me the keys with a big smile without any real clue. Seriously,most of my friends and family know I'm a car and driving enthusiast and I love cars,especially fast ones. When one of my family members or friends gets a new car,a trip by my house or shop is usually among the first stops. Here are a few of those I drove and liked a bit.
2004 BMW 645(six speed manual) -My dad bought this for his wife for her birthday. I drove it around while they were in Vegas and found some things I really liked and really didn't like about it. First off,this car is bigger than I thought and it feels like a big car. It's relatively fast and the trans is slick as glass. The traction and stability controls feel about perfect and don't intrude too much at all. That thumbwheel knob control thingy BMW uses has to be the dumbest thing I've ever seen. Unless you use voice commands,it takes three steps to change a radio station or adjust the climate control. I never did figure out how to use the navigation system. I'll add that my Dad found numerous problems with the paint on this car. It looks like a woman's car and I could'nt see myself with one of these .Overall,this is a big,reasonably quick car that handles and rides superbly. It has a great exhaust note and very nice interior. You should be able to buy one of these without that stupid joystick/thumbwheel thingy.
2004 Porsche GT3 - I was allowed to drive this by the Porsche North American Race Director at Road America and around the surrounding countryside. I have never really liked Porsches and this one was yellow with a big wing on the back. I had my son with me the entire time I drove this one,even on the track, and we really abused this car. I think all my previous notions of Porsches were formed behind the wheel of the Turbo cars. The GT3 is normally-aspirated and seems much more linear and predictable. This is likey the best handling street car I've ever driven. I doubt that it will generate higher skidpad numbers than my old Z06 but it is much easier to drive really fast. The engine sounds great and the trans shifts lightning quick. The shifter sucks but running this car through the gears is big fun. This car feels a lot faster than it really is and the feedback you get gives the sensation of greater speed. The truth is I was able to turn faster lap times(at Road America) in my CTS-V but I did'nt know that until after I was done lapping. The seats are the best ever by a big margin and the GT3 does not confine big guys like me. This is easily the best street Porshe I've ever driven and is a great car to use to hone your driving skills and for track days.
2004 Mercedes S600 - This car belongs to Head-fi member Angel Teres and he almost never drives it. This is one of the most detached cars I've ever driven. Everything feels like it takes a second to react to your inputs. Its a very fast car but it's just too big and sloppy to be travel at that pace. It handles well but the stability controls interrupt very early on and spoil your fun. The traction control is extremely goofy and resets itself every time you come to a stop. The brakes are downright scary for fast driving and I went into panic mode a few times thinking they might not stop me. This car accelerates so quickly and with such silence that I found myself driving 110 mph several times without any sensation of that speed. The trans shifts like a stinkin' drag car. In sport mode it will actually lay dual strips of rubber about 30 feet long on the first to second shift. The S600 is a pretty auto and the interior is super nice but the lack of any positive driver feedback makes this a really boring car.
2003 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Spec Racer - I drove this car on the track at Road America a few weeks ago. I've already said too much about what I'm trying to do with this and I don't wanna spoil my deal or jinx myself. I'll spill the beans when I can. Anyway,this is an amazing car in so many ways. I have to admit that I've never driven a properly prepared sports car and this was an experience for me. The first thing I noticed is that there is nothing in this car to distract you from driving. The car feels very open inside and I don't feel confined even though the seat doesn't adjust and I had to wear a harness and neck restraint along with my helmet. I was briefed about the warm-up involved with the clutch,brakes and tires but it still did not prepare for the sensation of having no clutch,brakes or tires until they were warm. That first turn was downright horrifying. This is the best handling car I've driven ,period,by a long shot. The brakes are incredible and the engine is just as impressive. All the stuff I practice on the street like heel-toe downshifting and trail braking are easy with the Porsche race car. The pedals are spaced perfectly,the engine revs really quickly and the brakes allowed me to do some truly insane things around that track. If God really,really likes me,I will have some good news(at least for me) about this really soon.
2004 Chrysler 300C Hemi - this belongs to my neighbour who seemed really afraid to allow me to drive his car. I did'nt want to resort to begging but I asked to drive one of these at a dealer and the salesman told me he did'nt have one around,so I had to loan Kenny G( he really does look exactly like Kenny G) my pressure washer. This car looks kinda goofy to me and I can't believe these things are selling like they are but I do see why folks like them. Me and this car got off on the wrong foot. I tried to burn rubber in this thing and it would'nt even chirp the tires. This is wrong in so many ways and is downright inexcusable in any car with a big American V-8 in it. The 300C sounds like it really wants to go fast but the computer programs for the engine and trans seem to be on different pages of the "go fast" book. I can feel the engine backing off on every shift and the trans executes those shifts like it's filled with molasses. This thing needs an old fashioned shift-kit and a deep stall torque convertor. From what I understand this is basically the same trans in the Mercedes and they shift great,what happened here? The interior looks really nice and the fit and finish were suprisingly near perfection. The paint was perfect and like I said,the exhaust note was pure music. Chrysler could win a Grammy for "Best Soul Performance" for that exhaust music but the lack of delivery on that beautiful exhaust note is a big let-down.
2004 Pontiac GTO(six speed manual) - The dealer that earlier denied me a test drive,called back a few months later pratically begging me to take one home overnight. It seems these are'nt selling like GM had hoped. I find that entirely amusing. This is an ugly car to me. I just think it looks too "girly" and has no soul as far as exterior appearance. I would never buy one of these while it looks the way it does. The interior is very nice and everything seems well thought-out. The engine is one my favorites and I know it well from use in my own Trans-Am, Corvette and CTS-V. The trans is likewise one that I know well and use daily. The exhaust note is another pure Sonata and sounds amazing to my ears. It is a deep baritone that demands respect. My own 2001 Trans-Am easily has the loudest stock exhaust I've ever heard but the GTO is nearly as loud and has better tone. Rowing this thing through the gears is an aural delight. The GTO is fast and fairly nimble but the tires and chassis are not matched well at all. The tires lose grip long before you feel any body roll which leads to some really unpredictable handling and scary oversteer. The GTO is not as fast as I hoped it would be and isn't as fast as the exhaust note would lead you to believe. The one thing this car does better than any other I've driven recently is big, smokey burnouts. You can lay rubber in this car in the first three gears and I had a ball doing sideways rolling burnouts from about 30mph. The big smoke combined with the loud exhaust give a sensation of real smokey violence but you ain't really hurting anything by burning rubber in this car. It's more noise and smoke than actual speed.
If you've driven some cool cars please post some impressions and I'll add impressions of other cars I've driven recently.(Jag XKR,Neon SRT-4,Dodge Ram SRT-10,Cadillac STS,Chevy Colorado P/U and a few others)
2004 BMW 645(six speed manual) -My dad bought this for his wife for her birthday. I drove it around while they were in Vegas and found some things I really liked and really didn't like about it. First off,this car is bigger than I thought and it feels like a big car. It's relatively fast and the trans is slick as glass. The traction and stability controls feel about perfect and don't intrude too much at all. That thumbwheel knob control thingy BMW uses has to be the dumbest thing I've ever seen. Unless you use voice commands,it takes three steps to change a radio station or adjust the climate control. I never did figure out how to use the navigation system. I'll add that my Dad found numerous problems with the paint on this car. It looks like a woman's car and I could'nt see myself with one of these .Overall,this is a big,reasonably quick car that handles and rides superbly. It has a great exhaust note and very nice interior. You should be able to buy one of these without that stupid joystick/thumbwheel thingy.
2004 Porsche GT3 - I was allowed to drive this by the Porsche North American Race Director at Road America and around the surrounding countryside. I have never really liked Porsches and this one was yellow with a big wing on the back. I had my son with me the entire time I drove this one,even on the track, and we really abused this car. I think all my previous notions of Porsches were formed behind the wheel of the Turbo cars. The GT3 is normally-aspirated and seems much more linear and predictable. This is likey the best handling street car I've ever driven. I doubt that it will generate higher skidpad numbers than my old Z06 but it is much easier to drive really fast. The engine sounds great and the trans shifts lightning quick. The shifter sucks but running this car through the gears is big fun. This car feels a lot faster than it really is and the feedback you get gives the sensation of greater speed. The truth is I was able to turn faster lap times(at Road America) in my CTS-V but I did'nt know that until after I was done lapping. The seats are the best ever by a big margin and the GT3 does not confine big guys like me. This is easily the best street Porshe I've ever driven and is a great car to use to hone your driving skills and for track days.
2004 Mercedes S600 - This car belongs to Head-fi member Angel Teres and he almost never drives it. This is one of the most detached cars I've ever driven. Everything feels like it takes a second to react to your inputs. Its a very fast car but it's just too big and sloppy to be travel at that pace. It handles well but the stability controls interrupt very early on and spoil your fun. The traction control is extremely goofy and resets itself every time you come to a stop. The brakes are downright scary for fast driving and I went into panic mode a few times thinking they might not stop me. This car accelerates so quickly and with such silence that I found myself driving 110 mph several times without any sensation of that speed. The trans shifts like a stinkin' drag car. In sport mode it will actually lay dual strips of rubber about 30 feet long on the first to second shift. The S600 is a pretty auto and the interior is super nice but the lack of any positive driver feedback makes this a really boring car.
2003 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Spec Racer - I drove this car on the track at Road America a few weeks ago. I've already said too much about what I'm trying to do with this and I don't wanna spoil my deal or jinx myself. I'll spill the beans when I can. Anyway,this is an amazing car in so many ways. I have to admit that I've never driven a properly prepared sports car and this was an experience for me. The first thing I noticed is that there is nothing in this car to distract you from driving. The car feels very open inside and I don't feel confined even though the seat doesn't adjust and I had to wear a harness and neck restraint along with my helmet. I was briefed about the warm-up involved with the clutch,brakes and tires but it still did not prepare for the sensation of having no clutch,brakes or tires until they were warm. That first turn was downright horrifying. This is the best handling car I've driven ,period,by a long shot. The brakes are incredible and the engine is just as impressive. All the stuff I practice on the street like heel-toe downshifting and trail braking are easy with the Porsche race car. The pedals are spaced perfectly,the engine revs really quickly and the brakes allowed me to do some truly insane things around that track. If God really,really likes me,I will have some good news(at least for me) about this really soon.
2004 Chrysler 300C Hemi - this belongs to my neighbour who seemed really afraid to allow me to drive his car. I did'nt want to resort to begging but I asked to drive one of these at a dealer and the salesman told me he did'nt have one around,so I had to loan Kenny G( he really does look exactly like Kenny G) my pressure washer. This car looks kinda goofy to me and I can't believe these things are selling like they are but I do see why folks like them. Me and this car got off on the wrong foot. I tried to burn rubber in this thing and it would'nt even chirp the tires. This is wrong in so many ways and is downright inexcusable in any car with a big American V-8 in it. The 300C sounds like it really wants to go fast but the computer programs for the engine and trans seem to be on different pages of the "go fast" book. I can feel the engine backing off on every shift and the trans executes those shifts like it's filled with molasses. This thing needs an old fashioned shift-kit and a deep stall torque convertor. From what I understand this is basically the same trans in the Mercedes and they shift great,what happened here? The interior looks really nice and the fit and finish were suprisingly near perfection. The paint was perfect and like I said,the exhaust note was pure music. Chrysler could win a Grammy for "Best Soul Performance" for that exhaust music but the lack of delivery on that beautiful exhaust note is a big let-down.
2004 Pontiac GTO(six speed manual) - The dealer that earlier denied me a test drive,called back a few months later pratically begging me to take one home overnight. It seems these are'nt selling like GM had hoped. I find that entirely amusing. This is an ugly car to me. I just think it looks too "girly" and has no soul as far as exterior appearance. I would never buy one of these while it looks the way it does. The interior is very nice and everything seems well thought-out. The engine is one my favorites and I know it well from use in my own Trans-Am, Corvette and CTS-V. The trans is likewise one that I know well and use daily. The exhaust note is another pure Sonata and sounds amazing to my ears. It is a deep baritone that demands respect. My own 2001 Trans-Am easily has the loudest stock exhaust I've ever heard but the GTO is nearly as loud and has better tone. Rowing this thing through the gears is an aural delight. The GTO is fast and fairly nimble but the tires and chassis are not matched well at all. The tires lose grip long before you feel any body roll which leads to some really unpredictable handling and scary oversteer. The GTO is not as fast as I hoped it would be and isn't as fast as the exhaust note would lead you to believe. The one thing this car does better than any other I've driven recently is big, smokey burnouts. You can lay rubber in this car in the first three gears and I had a ball doing sideways rolling burnouts from about 30mph. The big smoke combined with the loud exhaust give a sensation of real smokey violence but you ain't really hurting anything by burning rubber in this car. It's more noise and smoke than actual speed.
If you've driven some cool cars please post some impressions and I'll add impressions of other cars I've driven recently.(Jag XKR,Neon SRT-4,Dodge Ram SRT-10,Cadillac STS,Chevy Colorado P/U and a few others)
) Sign up to drive! And don't worry if you knock over every single cone. If you come with a willing-to-learn attitude, people will help you out. Your attitude will affect how people will help you. Everyone remembers how humbling their first drive was. Be sure you remain confident of your skills, know what you are capable of, and have that willing-to-learn attitude to learn what you aren't. The snotty kids (or adults that show up in thier brand new vette expecting to smoke everyone) are the ones who don't get help. Make friends with the old drivers, they have a lot to teach you. Ask (but don't pester) for rides at the end of the day when free rides are available. Ask for them to ride in your car during your runs and give you pointers.